Residential Steel Frame

The project

A structural steel frame erected for a two-storey side and rear extension, bolted to new mass concrete pads formed alongside a retained flank wall.

The effort behind it

Access allowed nothing longer than 6m, so the main beams were spliced and site-bolted with a full-strength connection designed specifically for the delivery constraint. Setting out was checked three times against the existing wall, which was 40mm out of plumb over its height, and every column base was shimmed to bring the frame true.

Challenges faced

Working in Barnes, London SW13 brought the classic London constraints: party walls on both sides, no lay-down area, and neighbours two metres from the scaffold line. The Residential Steel Frame programme had to absorb structural discoveries made only after opening up, and every delay risked cascading into the finishing trades booked behind us. Weekly look-ahead planning and a just-in-time delivery schedule kept the site moving without ever blocking the road.

Team & involvement

Delivery was led by a working site manager with a core crew of our own trades, supported by structural engineers, building control and specialist subcontractors we have worked with for over a decade. Morning briefings, a live programme on the wall and photographic records of every concealed stage meant the client in Barnes, London SW13 always knew exactly where their project stood.

A successful outcome

Residential Steel Frame was handed over on programme and within the agreed budget, with building control sign-off at the first inspection of every notifiable stage. The client moved back in on the date we gave them at tender — and the aftercare visit twelve months later found nothing to put right. That is the standard every DBS project is measured against.